Is Ryan Reynolds Failing Upwards?

 

When referring to the infamous and eccentric producer Jon Peters, (not to be confused with Killerfilm’s own ambitious writer Jon Peters) writer/director Kevin Smith was once brilliantly quoted for saying, “Because in Hollywood you kind of fail upwards.” This statement would not only prove to be true in the case of the hairdresser turned spider-loving producer, but also for up the and coming celebrities in Hollywood ironically enough. Somehow in Hollywood, it is possible for certain actors to star in mainstream films which all receive green splats on RT (Rotten Tomatoes for all you confused tweeters out there.) and yet they are still able to  grace the cover of People magazine on a regular basis. A-list actor Ryan Reynolds is rapidly becoming that kind of celebrity.

From cult sitcom star to one of the most sought out leading men in Tinseltown, Ryan Reynolds appears to be at the top of his game. His new film The Proposal took in the one number spot at the box office, he has been signed to star in Deadpool and he is married to a starlet so gorgeous that thousands of men would probably give their life savings just to receive one of her pantyliners through Ebay.  However, people are failing to notice that The Proposal is nothing more than a fluffy While You Were Sleeping-Redux, Deadpool is a spin-off of a spin-off, and Mr. Reynolds has not been photographed with Mrs. Johansson in quite some time. 

Sure this is a huge step up from his supporting role in The In-Laws or his “big” first billing role in the Canadian crime caper, Foolproof, but four years ago, (when he had first shown the world what a thousand sit ups a day can do) he seemed to have been getting the same type of roles. 

Back in 2004, Reynolds portrayed the Mac-loving and wise-cracking Nightstalker, Hannibal King in Marvel’s Blade: Trinity. A role in which he was supposed to reprise in his own separate spin-off that alas, never came to be. 

Last year, Reynolds leaped into his first foray into a genuine romantic comedy, (his gross out comedies aside) with Definitely Maybe. A film which was as cute as it was forgettable and was nowhere near the ‘noteworthy novelty’ the box office numbers made it out to be. 

Is this simply a bad case of cinematic deja vu? Or is it just the studios’ way of conveying the tried and true advice “If it ain’t broken don’t fix it” to the general public?

I know it may sound like I have forgotten to take my Midol this morning, but believe it or not, I happen to be a fan of Ryan Reynolds. However, I’m not the fan that shells out money to see him play “Monty the waiter” for the millionth time or to see his abs be as gratuitously shot as a dumb blonde’s breasts in a slasher remake. (*cough Julianna Guill *cough)   I’m the fan who discovered his darker films like The Nines, Chaos Theory and Finder’s Fee; all meaningful character studies that also conveyed consequential themes. These films always left room for much discussion with my fellow film reviewers yet mainly went unnoticed by most mainstream filmgoers.

Unfortunately, I suspect his dramatic roles that prove he can be more than a one trick pony/cash cow hybrid will become far and few in between due to the fact that studios are profiting from his sarcastic “shtick” that make college guys cheer, girls melt and gay men ponder about his sexuality. 

Will the general viewers ever discover that there’s more to Ryan Reynolds than his joking charm, high arched and expressive eyebrows and washboard abs or will he forever be labelled as “Mr. Funny” and be trapped  in fluffy A-list films with B-list standards? 

All I know is if he signs on to do another needless horror remake…I’m giving up all hope. 

Discuss below!